


Audience Chamber

by PrinxOfTheFlamingHeart



Category: The Two Princes (Podcast)
Genre: M/M, Patron/Artist relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 20:30:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21308174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinxOfTheFlamingHeart/pseuds/PrinxOfTheFlamingHeart
Summary: With the forest no longer so forbidding, the exiles that once roamed that evil place stand in the way of progress. Chief amongst these exiles is former actor Barabbas the Great, whose crimes may have been the act of a lifetime or a framing. Can Barabbas be rehabilitated? And could the ghosts of the past (this time figurative and not literal) be put to rest and clear his name?
Relationships: Jecily, Lady Cecily/Sir Joan (Two Princes Podcast), Prince Amir/Prince Rupert (Two Princes Podcast), Rumir - Relationship
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	Audience Chamber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated 01/19/2020 to reflect season 2 canon

When a formerly forbidden forest full of ferocious, feral foes and boasting a boatload of bombastic, brutal beasties suddenly returns to normal things tend to change. Some things, like the former kings, just disappear. Other things, like three former exiles, only wished they’d disappeared. It would, perhaps, have been too easy for everyone involved. 

Having heaved themselves out of the heat they’d happened into in the Hinterlands after an atrocious armed robbery, the trio of Barabbas, Cedric and Crazytooth once more set up camp in the forest. Quickly, they made a nuisance of themselves in the now more-travelled but still less-patrolled routes through the forest. 

The first issue was figuring out there even was a problem. Considering the increase of traffic ebbing and flowing from the forest to construct the Castle of the Heartland, it didn’t take long before the trio fell foul against a stronger foe. No foe would’ve been stronger than the one that took them down, Knight Champion Sir Joan and Lady Cecily. Their caravan of builders scarcely had time to blink at Crazytooth, Cedric and Barabbas’ weapons before Cecily and Joan charged the villains.

Standing in chains in the audience chamber, the three looked miserable. Their dirty clothes hung loosely on their frames, thinner than when the two princes last laid eyes on them. Crazytooth’s eyes were darting around at the slightest sound. Cedric seemed to be fixated on a particularly portly lord in the gallery. Barabbas alternated between muttering darkly and sullen silence.

All four members of the Royal Family arrived together and made their entrance, heralded by Lord Chamberlain. At Chamberlain’s wispy voice, Barabbas’ head snapped up and he locked eyes with the old man. Chamberlain shied away from the attention, but Barabbas’ eyes followed. This didn’t go unnoticed by Queen Lavinia, who glanced at Lord Chamberlain and said something the other three couldn’t hear. Chamberlain shook his head, drawing a shrug from Queen Lavinia. When she turned back to take her place in front of her throne, she carefully avoided eye contact with the other members of the Royal Family. 

“Who stands before us?” Queen Atossa asked imperiously.

“The exiled criminals Crazytooth, Cedric Strangelove, and Barabbas,” Sir Joan replied.

“That’s Barabbas the Great, love,” Barabbas corrected.

“Do not speak unless directed to do so, fiend!” Joan replied, her voice taking on a threatening edge. Barabbas merely yawned.

“Well, I, for one, am most aggrieved. I have abided by the terms of my exile and remained in the forbidden forest and territories beyond. Yet once again our monarchal misfits have seen fit to intrude upon our territory. Am I to understand that there is no place now for those who dared to speak truth to power?” Barabbas asked, dramatically.

Lavinia rolled her eyes. “And kill fifty people.”

“Accidentally and only because of some rather shoddy construction work on those audience stands,” Barabbas said. “You make a few renovations and trust folk to do their work and what does it get you? Stands that fall down at a slight breeze!”

Lavinia shook her head. “I wouldn’t call a cannonball fired from stage a ‘slight breeze’ Barabbas!”

“Which was only supposed to fire powder! Some fool stagehand loaded a prop cannonball,” Barabbas said.

Lavinia shook her head. “Even after all these years, you expect me to believe that such a catastrophe could occur accidentally during a play that portrayed me so poorly! You would have sewn the seeds of dissent in the West that would have taken the kingdom from me and my son. And you nearly had support until you took it too far with your barbarous act of terrorism.”

“Ah Lavinia, my dear. Still hearing only what you want to hear, I see. The fact remains that we have done nothing wrong!” Barabbas challenged.

Crazytooth laughed. “Yeah! I haven’t even killed anything today!”

Sir Joan spoke up. “You attacked a royal supply train.”

Barabbas shook his head. “And what of it? As I’ve stated previously, it ‘twas an intrusion upon our exiled territory.” Crazytooth echoed Barabbas’ last two words.

“This forest is exiled territory no longer,” Queen Atossa said. 

“The forest isn’t even forbidding anymore. It’s returned to its natural state thanks to us. And that’s Amir and myself, not thanks to you no matter how much you create alternate facts out in the hinterlands,” Rupert said.

“And even if it was, there’s still the matter of the attempted kidnapping and mutilation you three planned the first time we met,” Prince Amir said, folding his arms over his chest.

“You got away, didn’t you?” Barabbas asked. “In order to save your contemptible lives you dared to practice upon our credulous simplicity! And what of the last time we met! We treated Chad as a member of our own family! Then you snubbed us and ran off to save your kingdom!”

Amir snorted. “If I recall, you were off to do some highway robbery.”

Barabbas rolled his eyes. “Nice to see your memory returned, by the way. I much preferred Chad, to be honest.”

“You will watch your tone, Barabbas, or we will pass judgment without further discourse,” Lavinia threatened. “You have done nothing to warrant lenience from this court from the day you shot a cannon into an innocent audience to the present. All three of you have devolved further into the madness that plagued you amongst civilized society and as such you have no place amongst it.”

Barabbas’ face grew red. “So go ahead and order our executions, Your Majesty. Just like the good old days of King--”

Lavinia stood and shouted him down. “Do not dare speak that name! Hold your tongue villain or I will have you gagged and thrown into the deepest hole I can find!”

Barabbas raised his eyebrows and said no more. His eyes turned once more to Lord Chamberlain. “Speaking of names, Chamby. Still can’t remember your name, ducky?”

Sir Joan smacked Barabbas’ shoulder. “What did Her Majesty just say?”

“Hey it’s not everyday you see your old mentor. The way he’s avoiding even looking at me now just makes my heart break.”

“Crazytooth and Cedric are to be confined in the most secure of our mental institutions until such time as they are deemed fit to re-enter society,” Lavinia announced flatly.

“What? Why me?” Cedric asked.

“I still remember you suggested eating us,” Rupert replied.

“Oh, fair,” Cedric said. He and Crazytooth were led away, Crazytooth cackling with frenzy.

“Who put you up to that act of treason all those years ago? I never did buy into the theory that an upstanding actor would have done it all on his own. Even with the play you wrote,” Lavinia asked.

Barabbas didn’t turn his head to address her. “You know I kept that letter you wrote me while I was in prison. Your last line still stabs me in the heart every day.”

Lord Chamberlain finally turned his gaze upon the former actor. “Well acted once again, Barabbas. But as always, I can tell when you’re putting up a brave front. Your bluster is admirable but ultimately it is your undoing. Again.”

“Your co-conspirator, Barabbas. Name them now or take the credit you so richly deserve. No more acts,” Lavinia said.

Barabbas’ eyes turned misty and he looked away from Lord Chamberlain. “I am deeply sorry for the people I hurt that night. I haven’t had a pleasant night’s sleep in years. Every time I close my eyes I see the ball fly, the stands fall, and those people scattered about like broken dolls. I fell in with a bad lot when I was sent to the forest to die. Oh, you may say what you will but you know nobody expected the soft little actor to survive in the forest. It was become the villain or fall victim to them. Were it not for my fear of what lies beyond this world, I would have left it ten dozen times ‘afore now. Do with me what you will. I don’t expect you to believe me.”

“Indeed I don’t,” Lavinia said. “So--”

Barabbas turned back to Lord Chamberlain. “Chamby, I never said sorry to you either. And I’ve regretted that the most. You warned me every step along the way that I was inviting disaster and you were right. I may not know who took advantage of me that night, but I took you for granted. You were the best thing to ever happen to me.” A single tear rolled down his tan face.

Lord Chamberlain nodded, his expression carefully controlled. 

Queen Lavinia sighed. “Right. Well as I was about to say, your sentence--”

Prince Rupert held up a hand. Lavinia stopped and turned to her son. “I recommend lenience.”

A ripple of shock flowed through all in attendance. Queen Lavinia recovered quickly. “Rupert, darling, Barabbas is an actor. He knows how to lie and manipulate his audience. What you’ve seen today is a master performance by a talented actor.”

“Honestly I never thought him to be all that talented,” Rupert replied. “Scary, yes, good at tying people up, sure, but talented?”

“That execution sounds pretty good about now actually,” Barabbas deadpanned. 

“Barabbas, I sentence you to build a theater here on the castle grounds. Nothing huge or fancy. And you will organize a new play celebrating the end of the forbidden forest. One that conforms to the actual facts of the matter,” Rupert said.

“No doubt I will be required to sing your praises?” Barabbas asked. 

“I’d advise you to be celebratory, at least,” Ruper said.

“And I am to get that done while being escorted back and forth from a dungeon cell?” Barabbas asked.

Amir shook his head. “There is no dungeon under this castle. You will be quartered in the gaol tower next to the knight barracks.”

“Prince Rupert will be overseeing your work. He and Sir Joan will make sure no accidents can occur again. Or they will catch you at it again. Whichever the case may be, we will have an answer as to whether you were at fault, Barabbas. And we will also have an answer as to whether or not you are truly ‘great.’” Lavinia sat back, arms folded.

“Peachy,” Barabbas grumbled.


End file.
